Angels Race Sprint Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Winston-Salem, North Carolina
United States
Set-up Inc.
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 32m 11s
Overall Rank = 260/332
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 24/32
Pre-race routine:

Woke up 30 minutes before the alarm, of course! Breakfast, 3 hours prior to swim start, included peanut butter toast, yogurt, one cup of coffee, and water. Took in one banana after setting up my transition area, prior to warm up.
Event warmup:

Hit the pool about 1.5 hours prior to start. Swam 250m: 100m easy; 50 build; 2x25 sprints; 50 c/d. After warming up in the pool, did some light stretching during the pre-race meeting. I think the warm up was perfect ... just enough to get the blood flowing, but not too much.
Swim
  • 05m 48s
  • 300 meters
  • 01m 56s / 100 meters
Comments:

The swim went better than I expected. The start was in waves, 15 seconds apart. The person in front of me and in back of me were missing, so I thought I would have a 30-second buffer around me. They showed at the last second, and got in line. I was a little worried about being passed, and had never practiced being passed or passing. Within the first 50m I was already on someone's feet, tapping them for the pass. I had never practiced passing, so I just gunned it on around! I ended up passing two others ... I figured the first one seemed pretty easy, so lets just do some passing!
What would you do differently?:

Actually, I would have gone faster. I was a little tentative, trying to "pace" myself. I should have just gunned it for the entire 300m. I did some "sighting" on the wall once, and took too long looking around ... so, things I would do differently would be (a) gun it; and (b) sight, not on the wall, but in the water while moving!
Transition 1
  • 02m 55s
Comments:

What was I doing for the extra 55 seconds ... but little did I know, T2 would be worse ...
What would you do differently?:

I would have NOT spent 2:55 in T1 ... seriously, I would not have "double checked" on everything ... I would have just slapped on my well-organized gear and hit the road ASAP!
Bike
  • 39m 34s
  • 12.3 miles
  • 18.65 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike was odd for this reason: sometimes I forgot I was in an actual race! I busted out of T1 all fired up, and then there was ... silence. Once I cleared away from the TA, it was just me, my cadence, and the wind. Within 15 seconds of leaving T1 there was the steepest decent, so I hit about 38 down the short hill, and was all alone until I got to the loop road. It was a nice chance to "reset" and enjoy the race. I came up behind Denise (BonBonNeaser) doing her second loop, and it was GREAT to see someone I knew. We chatted some, and she gave me a quick idea about the course ahead. Very cool! Somewhere about mile 6 or 7, I was too relaxed enjoying the countryside and almost hit a hole! Reminded me to keep my HEAD in the GAME, and focused from that point. I was hammering, but trying to pace myself as I kept thinking about the run to come!
What would you do differently?:

I would have taken in more water and nutrition on the bike, prior to T2 (see comments below about drinking too much in T2).
Transition 2
  • 05m 12s
Comments:

WHAT WAS I DOING HERE!?!?!? Being my first race, I really had no concept of time here ... I could have sworn I only spent a couple minutes here, but 5+ minutes - crazy!! I changed shirts, took in a gel, and took in water ... too much water.
What would you do differently?:

I would have spent about 3:12 LESS TIME in T2! I would take in water and the gel on the bike BEFORE entering T2; I would also just change shoes while stationary, ditch the biking shirt (if I change at all), and pick up running shirt and hat, putting it on as I run out of T2. Man, I can't believe I wasted 3 extra minutes here!
Run
  • 39m 22s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 12m 42s  min/mile
Comments:

By far, the worst event ... and also one of my worst runs, period. One of the biggest problems was that I did not stick to my run/walk ratio times very strictly. Another is that I took in too much water, and a gel in T2 ... both of which sat up in my throat for the first .75. It really took me out of my game for the run. Felt really good at about 1.5 miles, but then hit hills. I just never, ever got into any kind of rhythm here. The BEST part, by far, was having Shannon run out of T2 with me to cheer me along. That was a really special moment for me, and will always remember it!
What would you do differently?:

I would drink and gel near the end of the bike; it would reduce my T2 time greatly, and reduce the uncomfortable feeling in the gut for the run start. I really messed this whole thing up!
Post race
Warm down:

Nothing to speak of, except high-fiving friends and family!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The TA's and run negatively impacted my over-all time. More efficient TA procedures would have cut about 3 to 4 minutes off my over-all time. Also, managing hydration and nutrition better would have reduced my sluggish run-start.

Event comments:

The race did not time TA time, so the swim, bike and run times published by the race organizers are longer than the actual swim, bike and run times ... thus, I have backed out TA times, based on Shannon's splits and my Garmin times. The total time adds up to my race time, but actual times for each event are more accurate using my timing, and backing out TA times separately.
This was simply a great experience for a first triathlon. I loved having my lovely Shannon (fitphd) there for me the whole way, as well as Mark (Wakeman) and the Bostic family (jkbostic and BonBonNeaser) there cheering for me! It was also great to have my dad there! The course was fun and fair, and the weather was perfect! I didn't do everything perfectly, but that gives me things to work on for the next race! I love this stuff!




Last updated: 2005-09-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:48 | 300 meters | 01m 56s / 100meters
Age Group: 8/32
Overall: 119/332
Performance: Good
Suit: Desoto's
Course: Pool swim; up-and-back within the same lane, crossing under lane lines each 50m.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Waves
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:55
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:39:34 | 12.3 miles | 18.65 mile/hr
Age Group: 18/32
Overall: 154/332
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: Country roads, open to traffic. There were a couple holes near the edges of the road, and some rough spots. But, generally, a nice surface and fair course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 05:12
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:39:22 | 03.1 miles | 12m 42s  min/mile
Age Group: 31/32
Overall: 323/332
Performance: Bad
Garmin showed 3.17 miles, which puts my pace at about 12:25.
Course: Part road surface, part gravel road, part root-covered cross-country route.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3